Some Provo hopefuls have thick wallets; others scrimping

PROVO — How will Mark Sumsion spend a huge war chest during this final week of campaigning for a Provo City Council seat?

Sumsion was reluctant to tip his hand Tuesday night, hours after filing his last campaign finance report before the election. The report showed he has spent $7,600 but has nearly $10,000 on hand.

Sumsion's strategy is built on a belief that he peaked too early when he lost a city-wide council campaign in 2005. He did say that at least some of his cash will be spent on a mailer that should go out shortly.

His opponent, incumbent Cynthia Dayton, has raised $6,000 and spent $5,500 in her struggle to retain the northeast Provo seat that represents one-fifth of the city.

Sumsion's not the only one with a thick political wallet. Midge Johnson has outspent rival Melanie McCoard handily and is headed down the stretch with more than $3,000 in the bank. That amount is close to what McCoard has spent on the entire election.

And Steve Turley, running to retain the only city-wide seat on the ballot, has outspent challenger Coy Porter, $21,655 to $8,602.

Overall, the eight candidates on Tuesday's ballot have spent more than $63,000. That's nothing, Turley said, compared to some past races, including the 2005 mayoral race when Lewis Billings spent $85,000 in cash and $10,000 more in in-kind donations.

"The mayor spent four times what I spent, and he was running the exact same race, a city-wide race," Turley said. "We have scrimped and saved and recycled. In the primary, I was reusing fliers from four years ago. We've recycled stationary, fliers and signs."

Sumsion and Dayton in District 1, Johnson in District 3 and Sherrie Hall Everett in District 4 have all spent more than Turley per capita, he said, because each district represents only one-fifth of the city. Turley and Porter, on the other hand, must try to reach every resident, or at least every registered voter.

"When it comes to our race, if I were spending five times what Mark Sumsion has raised, that'd be $75,000," Turley said. "Five times what Midge Johnson has raised would be $50,000. Voters want to be educated, and I'm not going to be embarrassed that I'm helping them go into the election with a better understanding of the issues."

Porter said he has told voters he wouldn't be able to compete with Turley financially, and partially blamed himself. "It's a real struggle for me to ask people to donate," he said. "That's probably the biggest weakness I have is asking people for donations."